Barbara Jordan helped break barriers

Strong debating and oratorical skills opened doors for many

9:47 AM,
Feb. 21, 2014

Barbara Jordan in 1967.

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From the moment of her birth, Barbara Jordan began dealing with prejudices, and she used them to fuel her success. She fought for an inclusive America: "This is our country, and we fully intend to make it work for us."

She was the first African-American elected to the Texas Senate since Reconstruction; the first black woman from the South to be elected to Congress; and the first black woman to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.

Jordan was born on Feb. 21, 1936, in Houston. As her biographer, Mary Beth Rogers, writes, "Ben Jordan saw his daughter almost ...